Ginobili was understandably stunned. Along with virtually anyone else with an interest in the outcome, he had no idea that Parker, having already suffered a strained hamstring earlier in the postseason, sprained his left ankle in Game 4, and then aggravated it again in Game 5 to put his availability in severe doubt for Saturday’s game at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The six-time All-Star did end up playing, scoring eight points with zero assists in 19 first-half minutes. But Popovich finally pulled Parker at halftime, forcing him to watch as the Spurs held on to beat Oklahoma City 112-107 in overtime to win the series 4-2 and earn a Finals rematch with Miami.

Popovich said after the game he has no idea what Parker’s status is. Game 1 of the Finals is Thursday at the AT&T Center.

“I don’t know what the deal is,” Popovich said. “He came to me with about eight minutes on the clock (before the game) and told me he couldn’t go. He couldn’t cut sideways or forward. We didn’t make a big deal out of (the injury), but I guess it caught up with him. I didn’t want him to be a hero. If he’s 50 percent or less, that’s bad for the team.

“But it was a tough decision to play him because if you lose, it affects him for Monday (in Game 7). We went back and forth. He tried to get warmer and warmer. He wasn’t doing very well, but the 19 minutes he gave us were huge. He showed a lot of guts to do what he did. But at halftime it stiffened up a little bit and I made the call. He wanted to go and I told him, you’re not.”

Cory Joseph got the first shot in Parker’s stead, scoring two points in seven minutes. But with his inexperience and Patty Mills struggling — he went 0 for 1 in 18 minutes — Popovich relied on Ginobili to run much of the Spurs’ offense over the final two quarters and overtime. He struggled with his shot, missing 10 of 14 attempts but otherwise excelled with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals after the break.

“You know how important Tony is for us,” Ginobili said. “He tried. He gave it a try in the first half but he wasn’t what we needed him to be to attack them. Just being there is not enough. You have to be ready and athletic and aggressive to beat them. So Pop pulled the plug. It was tough going into the second half down seven, but I thought we responded well.”

It marks the latest physical setback in a trying season for Parker, who had five listed injuries during the regular season before suffering two more in the postseason: The hamstring strain that limited him to one quarter in the conference semifinal clincher over Portland, and now the ankle.